View From the Beauty Closet: These Eyelashes Look Real, Right?

Want one product that does the work of an entire beauty cabinet? I don't have one for you (yet—we're up to our ankles testing products for our Best of Beauty issue, so you never know), but fake eyelashes come pretty close. Strips of fake fringe widen eyes, highlight cheekbones, and are so impractically glamorous that they can turn a late dinner with friends into your own private red-carpet event. I speak from experience: In between dinner and dessert last night, makeup artist Katey Denno mentioned she happened to have a king's ransom of faux lashes in her bag. As one does, you know. I happened to have a plane ticket to the country music capital, Nashville, in my bag for a weekend trip, so I let Denno take me from 0 to Dolly Parton in 60 seconds. (That's me and my nostrils above.) With these tips, you'll be belting "Jolene" in front of the mirror in no time.

Trim the lashes to fit your eye shape. Place the strip along your lash line, alining it with the outer corner of your eye, then cut it to match up with the end of your iris. "If you don't, it will irritate you when you blink," said Denno. Before she trimmed mine, I felt a little like a manga character.

Skip the lash adhesive and buy surgical glue. Denno likes Duo, a brand used in ERs to close shallow cuts. (Sounds intimidating, but it's specially formulated not to irritate the eyes, is incredibly sticky, and didn't hurt at all when I ripped off the lashes later. It's available on Amazon.) She pooled a dab of glue on the top of her hand and ran the lash strip through it, double-dipping the ends. "The first parts of a lash strip to lose sticking power are the ends, especially at the outer corners," Denno said. Seriously, she's seen heavy winds on the red carpet blow celebrities' lashes off their faces.

Let the glue dry a bit. Only semi-dry glue, tacky to the touch, will stick to skin. You can always add more glue if it gets too dry, but if the adhesive is fresh, the lashes won't stay in place during application.

Don't forget the liner. You can skip mascara, but you'll want to fill in the gap between where the lashes stop (see step one) and the inner corner of your eye. Otherwise, it's like a frame that's missing a piece, Denno explained. The surgical glue will keep the strip in place, so don't be afraid to smudge the liner a bit. Creasing and blurring makes your lashes look sexy and lived in.